No Couch for You
by Amledo
Summary: Tony and Bruce have been in the lab for way too long. Bruce being too tired to go back to HQ asks to stay with Tony. The only thing that Tony has to offer is his bed because Loki has conquered the couch. Fluffy Bruce/Tony with a slight twist. Sleepy brat Loki and louder than necessary Thor included.


(A/N: So before I even really get started I want to take a moment and say, woah, this is my 100th fic on here. I've written dozens more, but this is my 100th published fic and somehow I feel that this is important. Okay, that moment over, welcome to yet another Avenger's fic! This one is set just a few months after the mess in New York. It's a Tony/Bruce or 'Brony' fic, because I just love them together. Features bratty Loki and a bit of Thor being loud as well as the requisite schmoop. On with the show!)

No Couch for You

"Hey…Tony…Tony? Tony!" Bruce was beyond the point of tired, it was hour 47 in the lab together and he had entered zombie mode. His eyes felt like they had been replaced with 20 grit sandpaper and it stung when he blinked, burning had been about 8 hours ago.

"What? Huh?" Tony asked with a slur, his eyes had that faraway look of someone who had almost fallen asleep. When he turned to look at Bruce the doctor could see the lines on his face that betrayed the fact that Tony had been very nearly ready to nap against the engine of the motorcycle.

"We need to get some sleep before we wind up ruining this thing. I already know that we won't have the good sense to catch ourselves," Bruce rubbed violently at his eyes, hoping that the sandpaper would go away. "Can I crash on the couch? I don't think that I can make it back to SHIELD HQ like this," they physicist said, shocked to realize that his voice had turned into a broken croak.

"It's 2 AM. The couch has already been claimed. This time of night Loki is a permanent fixture. And since the Other Guy gives him nightmares, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to share with him. You can share my bed, s'big enough," Tony said with a yawn distorting his words as he stood up. He braced his hand against the motorcycle that they had been working on. It was Cap's bike and they had spent hours and hours outfitting it to run on an Arc Reactor so that it would never need refueling. It was a long and complicated process and neither of them had expected to get so carried away.

"Tony. That is a terrible idea. He doesn't share space very well," Bruce said and Tony granted him a dramatic eye roll. The over-tired billionaire walked toward Bruce, planting a kiss against shaggy brown curls. It was a gesture of affection that had once been reserved for Pepper, but it put a dull smile on Bruce's lips regardless.

"He has been sharing with you ever since he came to be. He can deal with me. Besides, after this little marathon, you need a bed," Tony said so calmly and so convincingly that Bruce did not argue again and followed without complaint. He was tired enough that he didn't have the energy to out stubborn Tony anyway. And he couldn't be blamed if the idea of sleeping in Tony's bed sounded like a vacation, how could Tony Stark possibly have an uncomfortable bed?

They remained silent throughout the elevator ride. Bruce had spent years getting comfortable being in the little metal boxes that rode along on pulleys, and if he wasn't alone the company had to be exceedingly calm.

The top level was the living quarters which were still in the process of being renovated so that Bruce and the rest of the team could move in. Only Tony's bedroom, which had been his bedroom before that whole Chitauri mess, was completed. The billionaire led them through the living room, pausing only to drape the blanket back over Loki's sleeping frame. Bruce figured that it was a habitual action and wondered if Loki was a fitful sleeper.

The physicist didn't comment on the state of Tony's room, the books and papers strewn everywhere and stacked on many of the available surfaces took away from Tony's image as a wizard of technology. Yet Bruce found it reassuring. It looked like it could have been a normal person's room and the fact that it was no more or less interesting than anyone else's put Bruce at ease.

The bed beckoned.

"I can loan you something to sleep in if you want. Got some flannel pants and a few t-shirts that you can pick from," Tony advertised and with a wave of his hand the closet door was sliding open. Okay, maybe a little more interesting than normal.

"Yeah, that'd be great. But shouldn't we grab a shower first? Forty-seven hours is a lot of funky," Bruce said and it made Tony giggle almost uncontrollably.

"Sure, right, like normal people. Uh, I should only need 5 minutes. Do you want to go first or should I?" Tony asked as Bruce selected a pair of plaid flannel pants with a hole in one knee and an Iron Maiden t-shirt. Tony did not comment on the choice of t-shirt though Bruce could see that he wanted to.

"Tony, do you even remember that you have more than one bathroom?" Bruce asked with a bit of a tired smile and Tony rubbed at his eyes in frustration a sigh passing his lips.

"Right, now I remember," Tony muttered and headed for the hall, shooing Bruce away to the en suite bathroom.

It had been less than 10 minutes when both of them were back in the room, sitting on either side of the bed. Bruce noted that Tony slept shirtless. When the lights went out the Arc Reactor was a gentle glow, it almost reminded Bruce of moonlight.

Sleep came easily because Tony was a completely silent bed partner. For Bruce it was almost like he was sleeping alone.

He woke up briefly when Tony rolled over and wrapped an arm around him. The feeling was not an unpleasant one and since the Hulk did not protest, Bruce went with it and allowed himself to fall asleep again.

The next time he woke up, it wasn't for any reason that he could identify, but the sun looked to have just broken the horizon. Tony was tucked around him, arm slung around his stomach and knees pressed up against the backs of his legs. For a long while Bruce just lay there, enjoying the closeness of another warm body and indulging in the comfort that Tony's beating heart brought him. It had been a very long time since he had gotten to be close to someone else.

"How long have you been awake?" Bruce asked at last, his head tipping back only to be tucked under Tony's chin. The arm around him grew tighter and Bruce trapped it with his own so that Tony wouldn't have the option of pulling away.

"About 20 or so minutes," Tony's voice was rather soft at the admission, which was spoken into Bruce's hair. The warmth of Tony's breath on Bruce's scalp made the physicist sigh on the inside.

"We really didn't sleep very long," Bruce muttered, leaving the _other_ conversation for as long as possible.

"I never do," Tony responded, quiet words still pressing gently into the doctor's hair.

"It has been less than four hours," Bruce lamented, earning a chuckle from Tony. The hand on Bruce's chest slid up ever so slightly, splaying across his sternum.

"Coffee," was Tony's only assurance.

"Will Loki still be asleep?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Why does Loki sleep on your couch?"

"Because he kicks like a mule in his sleep. That and a guy can get jealous when the person he's sharing a bed with dreams about another man," Tony said with a laugh. Bruce blushed brightly and would have rolled over, but was trapped by Tony's strong arm.

"You didn't sleep with Loki…did you?" Bruce asked instead.

"Sure. But when my subconscious impulse to snuggle kicked in, he nearly broke my leg. He volunteered to take the couch after that," Tony elaborated and Bruce's embarrassment subsided. Apparently Tony took, sleep with, literally.

"I mean, why is he even here?"

"They banished him from Asgard and him being a good guy now isn't enough to convince Fury to let him stay at HQ with Thor. So he stays nights here and spends the days seeing the city and responding to events with Thor. His is the first room I will have finished," Tony said, still speaking into Bruce's hair, the feeling was still warm but was starting to turn a little ticklish.

"He should be grateful that Fury doesn't want him at HQ. Those beds are genuinely awful," Bruce said, smiling slightly at the unpleasant memories of his lumpy mattress.

"But everyone stays there…"

"They hate the beds with a genuine passion. Steve especially would be jealous if he knew that allowance you've made for Loki."

"JARVIS? Put in an order for four more couches. Those I can do on short notice," Tony said and Bruce was thankful that he tilted away to speak in a louder voice.

"Right away sir," JARVIS responded obediently and Bruce finally managed to roll over.

"Four? Who isn't getting one?" Bruce questioned softly, he was tired but he could still do math.

"You, you idiot," Tony said, smirking as the realization came over Bruce's face.

"Oh," was the only thing that Bruce managed to say before Tony's lips were meshed with his own. The kiss was slow but deep and neither of them wanted it to end. By the time they needed to stop for breath Bruce had been partially levered atop Tony and both were brightly flushed.

Bruce slipped his fingers into Tony's hair, thumb lightly brushing tanned skin. His heart was racing, but the Hulk would stay docile unless they took it further.

"I have been waiting a very long time for that," Tony said and his lips quirked up into a small smile at the look of surprise on Bruce's face. Bruce kissed him again, more delicately than before, but Tony could feel the love in it.

"So have I. But Tony…this won't work…I…well…I can't…" Bruce went red and Tony gave another of his dramatic eye rolls. He dragged Bruce down so that their bodies were flush with one another. It was instantly obvious to Bruce just what point Tony was trying to make.

"Neither can I. But I can still love you with all my heart, and I can definitely kiss you senseless," Tony said a bit primly, kissing Bruce's jaw delicately, planting a line of kisses down to the other man's chin. A relieved smile crossed Bruce's lips and he rested his forehead against Tony's.

"I love you too Tony, though I probably never would have said it on my own. Do you mind if I ask…what happened to…" Bruce trailed off with the question and nodded when Tony shot a meaningful glance downward. The billionaire snagged Bruce's hand and pressed it against the Arc Reactor. Slowly and carefully Bruce stroked the glowing device.

"It keeps me alive, but it has a few side-effects. Even more since that whole Palladium poisoning thing. I don't get excited anymore, my adrenaline is in the dumps and I'm lucky to have the testosterone to grow a beard. But I don't mind the change so much," Tony kissed Bruce deeply. "It makes it easier to have a relationship with the man that I have my heart set on if my libido isn't a factor," the billionaire said, still managing to smirk.

"That may be so, but I would have been happy to be with you either way," Bruce said and Tony purred with satisfaction, tightening his arms around the doctor.

They spent the next several minutes wrapped around one another, kissing languidly. Bruce could honestly say that he hadn't felt so safe or content around another human being since before becoming the Hulk.

They were interrupted when –eyes half closed, hair going in every direction, and blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape—Loki walked in and climbed into the empty side of the bed. Tony and Bruce turned their heads and stared at the sleeping God.

"Loki! Brother where have you gone?" Thor's thunderous voice boomed through the hall. Under the blanket, Loki groaned.

Tony's face acquired a devious smile and he kissed Bruce on the chin before lifting the back of Loki's borrowed t-shirt and shifting so that his back was flush with Bruce's chest. The billionaire drew his knees up to his chest and firmly planted his feet against the small of Loki's back.

The God of Trickery shrieked like a three year old girl and fell out of the bed just as Thor stepped into the room. The blonde could only survey the scene with a look of confusion.

"Stark damn you and your toes. How is it possible for a Midgardian to be so cold? And where did Banner come from?" Loki's indignant tirade was ruined by his messed up hair and obviously sleepy state.

"What? Not even a Jötunn can withstand the dreaded tater-toes! And Bruce has been here the whole time, he slept here you clothes thief," Tony said with childish enthusiasm which Bruce found endlessly endearing. Even Loki seemed to half-smile at it before gathering his expression into something that verged on serious.

"Good for you Stark. But next time those toes touch me," Loki toppled back as Tony extended his foot, "I swear to you Stark I will put your feet on backwards!" the dark haired God threatened as Thor picked him up off of the floor.

"Congratulations son of Stark and Banner. May your love be long and happy," Thor said with a bright grin and towed Loki out of the room. Bruce rolled Tony over and kissed him once again.

(A/N: And that's the end of that fic. Sorry for the silliness at the end there, but I myself am quite to the point of so sleepy that everything is funny. Leave me a review to let me know what you thought.)


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